On May 6, 2017, Dozens of young adults filled the popular downtown Detroit venue, Club Bleu as Generation Young Entertainment hosted, “Drinko De Mayo” a showcase of some of the best Hip Hop and EDM in the state of Michigan. 
Performing acts included, Apropos, Jade Lathan Music, Jahi, Anwar Sadot, Cyrus King & Mocha Jones, D $cholar, @IAMKRAAY, (yours truly) E-Man Bates and headlined by Generation Young Co-Founder, Kevin “Historik” Schechter. The event also featured several EDM DJ’s as well such as, Lord Monk, Chris Tha Cat and Chris Hesano. Through past events around the city I was familiar with a few of the acts on the bill but there were a few I haven’t seen before that were a pleasant surprise, one of which was Cyrus King & Mocha Jones whose stage presence brought an energy to electric the crowd.
“Ever since I was a child, music has been natural for me from inception.” Said by Cyrus King when asked what got him into music, “Beat boxing-or what they call beat boxing, singing, writing melodies, just being musical came natural to me and is powerful enough to evoke the musician inside of you should there be said musician in you” he continued. Cyrus King based out of Novi, MI took a break from performing for a bit, but at 31-years old is determined to make a name for himself in the hip hop world alongside producer and performing artist, Mocha Jones.
Mocha Jones, based out Remus, MI(in the Central Michigan area) is a dual threat as a rapper/producer combination. “I’ve always been into music, I got my first rap CD when I was 7 or 8 years old, I stole an LL Cool J CD from my dad and that was the first rap I’ve really heard and just ran with it.” When asked what inspires him musically. “I stared off as a rapper but really didn’t start making beats till about five years ago.” He continues. Mocha Jones currently attends Schoolcraft College in Livonia, MI for sound engineering. “He pushes me musically, there’s shit that I didn’t even know I could do, and five years ago, I would’ve never said I had bars. But, because the craft and the genius of this person, he gives me the green light to be myself and just spit good shit.” Said by Cyrus Jones regarding Mocha Jones. 
The EDM sets were amazing and there seemed to be a style of music for everyone to enjoy, from the hip hop heads there for the lyrics to the bachelorette party that were there for drinks and dancing. All performing acts had their logos projected on the big screen above them as well for an added touch. The was a mix of Trap and Dubstep EDM among the DJ’s which added for a nice mix in variety. One of the standout DJ’s who had the crowd asking for more was Lord Monk.
“When I was young, I kept wondering what that noise was, then I started to listening to it more and more and staring going to shows, saw those guys up top and decided I want to be that guys making everyone have a good time so I got into playing dubstep about 2 ½ years ago.” Said by Lord Monk when asked how he got into the dubstep scene. Lord Monk, based out of Waterford, MI has played two prior events with Generation Young. His next plan is to enter competitions to play festivals. “I go for that really heavy whatever helps me get rid of aggression, like hard core metal but with dubstep electronic sounds, throw it on the dance floor and get your aggression out.”
Histork headlined the event performing songs off his new project, “Curved Appetite” which gave energy to a crowd that was there until the venue closed for the night. 
I didn’t have the chance to interview Historik or Korey Sweet of Generation Young, but if their next event is anything like this past event, then word of Generation Young will spread around the state very soon.
All photo credits courtesy of Ronald M. Askew.
Beats, Brews and points of view 